Charge-dependent Self-assembly of a Water-soluble Porphyrin in a Variety of Dimensions

Porphyrins are basic compounds because of their central pyrrole units, potentially producing dications at their cores through protonation. When anionic and cationic groups are presented as peripheral groups, local charges can be introduced at the cores and peripheries of the porphyrins, providing derivatives with a variety of total charges. In this study we synthesized a new porphyrin derivative for which the total charge could be varied from -2, to 0, to +2. Charge neutralization -driven self-assembly of this porphyrin derivative controlled the pathways through which it formed various supramolecular structures at different values of pH.

Automated summary

Porphyrins can become basic compounds due to the pyrrole units in their center, which can be protonated to form dications. By introducing anionic and cationic groups as peripheral groups, charges can be introduced to both the cores and peripheries of porphyrins, resulting in derivatives with different total charges. In this study, a new porphyrin derivative was synthesized that could have a total charge ranging from -2 to 0 to +2. The self-assembly of this porphyrin derivative, driven by charge neutralization, controlled the formation of various supramolecular structures at different pH values.